Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Mega Mix sees the world's most famous virtual Vocaloid pop idol finally arrive on Nintendo Switch in an excellent portable version of the hit rhythm game series that includes a brand new Switch-exclusive art style, motion-control Mix Mode and touchscreen options that give players more ways than ever to bash along to the beat with 111 songs – including ten new tracks that are making their Project DIVA debuts here.

Gameplay in Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Mega Mix consists of pressing combinations of your controller's buttons in time to the music, carefully matching your inputs to increasingly complex on-screen button prompts in order to successfully blast your way through songs. To clear a track here you'll need to hit prompts with at least a "good" or "cool" rating in order to fill up a blue progress meter at the bottom of your screen so that it passes the 50% mark, whilst avoiding making so many errors that your green life bar empties – resulting in a fail. You're constantly aware of your draining life bar as you mess up and songs often come to an exciting climax as you fight through tricky bonus point sections in order to nail some combos, reverse early errors and get that blue bar where it needs to be by the track's end.

Captured on Nintendo Switch (Docked)

Players of every skill level are very well catered for here, with difficulties ranging from the very chilled out easy setting to a mind-bendingly difficult extreme option. As you crank up the difficulty the game will fire faster, more complex arrays of button prompts at you – the very hardest mode spitting out nigh-on impossible layers of commands that only the most experienced players will be able to keep up with.

We found that starting out nice and slowly on easy mode, learning a handful of our favourite tracks and then gently nudging up the difficulty as we got to grips with things saw us making relatively quick progress into clearing tunes on normal, which left us to then chase those extremely addictive perfect rankings – a properly challenging task which really makes you feel as though you're an integral part of whatever zany music performance is currently taking place on the screen. There's a really satisfying sense of progression as you go from fumbling around and failing at your favourite songs to managing to pull of a perfect performance on higher difficulty settings.

Captured on Nintendo Switch (Docked)

In terms of the basic mechanics of the thing, then, it's all pretty much par-for-the-course for a rhythm game; there aren't really any great surprises here, but Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Mega Mix raises itself above many other entries in the genre on account of its wealth of truly excellent tunes, a cast of cool and kooky pop idols it's impossible not to adore and the consistently high quality of the quirky, colourful videos that accompany each and every one of the songs on offer.

This is a very stylish game featuring an eclectic mix of music, with everything from hardcore dance numbers to metal, power ballads, saccharine pop, funky electro, punk and a few absolutely mad anime efforts alongside everything else in-between. It won't take long before you've zeroed in on something you like the sound of and we found our favourites list expanding pretty quickly, with the likes of Po Pi Po, Senbonzakura, World's End Dance Hall, Black Rock Shooter and Catch the Wave among some of our immediate favourites. If you simply hate the Vocaloid sound you probably won't get much out of what's going on here, but everyone else is sure to gel with plenty of the great tracks on offer.

Captured on Nintendo Switch (Docked)

In comparison to Project DIVA: Arcade Future Tone the track-listing is a little more sparse – although there's still a lot of content – and in this respect, it's really newcomers who'll be getting the most value for money in terms of content as the vast majority of the game's tracks have featured in previous titles. You can, if you wish, opt for the slightly more expensive special edition of the game which features all currently available DLC – six packs of six more tracks each that bring the total number of tunes to around 140 – but we still reckon that even with the vanilla version of the game it's worth the compromised song catalogue to have this one available to play in portable mode. It's just such a great fit for the Switch, and jumping in for quick handheld sessions to improve your score and unlock some goodies is massively addictive and super fun stuff.

Speaking of goodies, there's a huge number of costumes, hairstyles, accessories and other bits and bobs to unlock for your favourite pop idol by using points earned from performing well in songs, with hundreds of individual pieces of kit to acquire in order to dress Hatsune and the other idols up however you see fit and, alongside that somewhat compromised – but still pretty hefty – track listing there's plenty to keep Hatsune Miku fans busy for a very long time here.

This Switch version of the game also introduces a new Mix Mode that allows you to play through songs utilising the Joy-Con's motion control technology. Here you'll hold one Joy-Con in each hand, shifting them from side to side in order to manoeuvre coloured bars through prompts onscreen and hitting the correct trigger button as your bar passes through each one. It's a more fully-fledged mode than we had initially thought it might be and, although it definitely lacks the precision of the default control method, it's a fun diversion that manages to feel a little more relaxed and forgiving than the core arcade mode; it's certainly something we can see newcomers taking to while they learn the ropes and get acquainted with a few tracks.

Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld/Undocked)

The touchscreen mode, activated by jumping into the game's customisation settings, allows you to bash button prompts onscreen and also works pretty well for the most part although, again, it's really the default mode that wins out in the end in terms of giving you the least fussy and most reliable way to play the game, especially if you've got the difficulty cranked up. It should also be noted at this point that Switch Lite users won't have access to the new motion control Mix Mode, which is a shame – however, as we've said, the default way of controlling this one really is the best option in the long run. Still, it's something to remember if you're considering a purchase.

The developers have also very cleverly included the ability to change button prompts from the default Switch commands to their PlayStation or even arcade counterparts, an excellent addition for veteran players especially who'll most likely have the DualShock 4 commands burned into their memories; it's an option that really helps avoid the trial of having to relearn tracks with the new Switch screen prompts.

The new graphics style, which replaces the usual 3D character models with 2D anime art, also looks great. We're assuming it may have been an artistic decision that was partly taken to help with the performance of the game on Nintendo's portable console, and in this regard, it's certainly something that's paid off, with the videos and characters here all looking fantastic and the performance across the board absolutely rock-solid with zero stutters or framerate drops. You may notice a slightly blurred image quality from time to time in portable mode – if indeed you can concentrate on watching the background videos as you attempt to hit all the right notes – but besides this, and the odd slightly long loading time here and there, this is a triumphant portable version of a brilliant rhythm game that feels like a perfect fit for the Switch.

Conclusion

Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Mega Mix is a strong portable version of a truly joyous rhythm game which loses out a little in terms of track numbers in comparison to the likes of series stablemate Future Tone, but makes up for this with a surprisingly solid Switch-exclusive motion control mode alongside touchscreen controls and a new art style that helps keep things running smoothly as you blast your way through its eclectic mix of excellent music. It's a perfect fit for dipping in and out of in handheld and is extremely welcoming to newcomers whilst still providing plenty of tough challenges for veteran rhythm game fans. If you're a follower of this particular genre, then Project DIVA Mega Mix comes highly recommended.

One of the most colourful, upbeat and fun rhythm games available on Switch

Switch exclusive modes are fully featured additions to the default playstyle

New graphics style looks great and keeps the action running smoothly

Excellent performance across the board

Tons of customisation and control options

Track list is somewhat lacking in comparison to previous entries in the series

"The new graphics style, which replaces the usual 3D character models with 2D anime art"

This isn't true, they're using the exact same models - some of which are from the original 2013 release of Future Tone. The toon shader is recycled too, but I think it still looks good!The songs are still fun for a longtime fan and I'm sure most of this will be new to Switch players, I'd definitely recommend it if you haven't played the PS4 version

Yay !, First day purchase and I thought it would be expensive, but it wasn't., however, I had not bought digital games that exceeded 10 GB, I had to make memory adjustments (delete demos and games that I no longer played almost), I had to buy a new SD memory ...

@Silly_G Not being able to 100% a game with your base console is a bit of a con, but I'm not sure if NintendoLife take points off other games for the same issue.The Arcade mode is main attraction anyway.

@CoOokie And no they're all Switch screenshots, but you can switch between different symbols in the settings. It's confusing too see Nintendo button prompts when you have played the previous games on Sony consoles...especially when they both have "X" buttons.

I tried mix mode in the demo, and didn't think the motion tracking was very responsive, IMO.

Otherwise, it seems like the usual Project Diva release (which is to say, it's a good time if you like the sound of Vocaloid music). I own the first PD release on the Vita, so I'll pass for now. I suck at rhythm games.

My biggest annoyance is how quiet the maximum volume is in handheld mode. It's only like just barely good enough with my headphones on and just awful without headphones. Still enjoying the game but only find myself playing for a little bit here and there rather than getting really absorbed into it. Will only a temporary diversion from Groove Coaster for me I think.

“ Track list is somewhat lacking in comparison to previous entries in the series“ huh? It has fewer songs than the playstation-4 version, most likely due to licensing or further dlc plans. But its track list is still gigantic compared to older project diva games.

However, compared to older diva games it has no modes besides the rhythm game. Which may be a con to some players. And all songs are unlocked from the start.

@Steelhead try the demo songs a few times. I suck also at rhythm games, but you do not have to be able to perfect them at extreme. I migrated from failing at easy to finishing most songs on hard. That is enough for me and i have a lot of fun. Of course you should like the music.

@StephenYap3 Groove Coaster's been an addiction of mine since it came out in November. Definitely my favourite Switch rhythm game and probably the most fun I've ever gotten out of a rhythm game. Only things that make it a pretty hard game to recommend to people (despite it being a 10/10 for me) is the high price (particularly if you want the DLC) plus the fact that you need to play vertically to play in full screen and not that many people have a flip grip.

It's arguably not worth it for me since I've already put a lot of hours into Future Tone, which contains the vast majority of Mega Mix songs and more. If this game had more new songs then I would have been tempted to get it.

As for songs, Hatsune Miku games generally have an excellent variety of different genres of songs, so there's something for anyone as long as you're okay with vocaloid songs. Some of my favourites that are in Mega Mix include This is the Happiness And Peace of Mind Committee, Rolling Girl, Dye, and Meteor.

....But does this game contain the bewbs?...Eh-hem, er, anyways...I think when it comes to music/rhythm games, I just prefer the ones with simple controls. These games where they throw 10 million buttons at you in seconds kinda drives me crazy and I can never keep up. lol

@RPGamer These basically are the mainline vocaloid games. Vocaloid "software" is a music creation tool. People use the software to create vocaloid music. And that music is featured in the Project Diva rhythm games.

@BenAV Thanks for that. I know the price tag is the only thing keeping me on the boat, but chances are that if Groove Coaster Wai Wai Party!!!! goes under a sale in an "empty" month for me, I'll make the jump.

I had not realized with Project Mirai DX they had given us most of the really good songs - there are some solid additions in this one that weren't in that but yeah a lot of the songs I'm playing for the first time are just... not great? I'm even excluding stuff like rin-chan now which is cacophonic on purpose. I'm kind of surprised. Understandably, the mirai DX songs with Gumi did not make it back here (+f happy synthesizer) but stuff happens, I can live with it.

It's also way less forgiving than Project Mirai DX ever was. A performance that would net you 85% or more on Mirai DX barely tops 70 in this one, on easy mode. Getting 90% on every song on easy/medium/hard difficulty is going to take a lot of effort.

There's also this weird glitch where if I select future style Rin and put her in regular Rin's black star outfit the game functions perfectly but I completely forget to push any buttons - other people may not have this problem.

Even despite this though, the game is still a ton of fun; I haven't even touched mix mode yet and I feel it's going to be one of my three most played switch games for sure.

I've been playing this game every chance I get since it was released. Even put down Animal Crossing: New Horizons for it. As someone playing this series for the first time, I'm very impressed with it. Really solid game!

My only real complaint would be that there isn't really any progression mechanism. All of the songs are unlocked from the beginning and it's really easy to earn VP which is how you unlock new modules (costumes), accessories, etc.. Guess it's strange to complain about having access to everything from the start but all of the content is a bit overwhelming and I like having some kind of structure, even if it's a basic one, to work through in a game. I've ended up setting my own goals by only playing a handful of songs at a time until I Excellent them before moving on to the next group. Guess I'm too used to the Rock Band system.

At any rate, that aside, I would highly recommend this game to anyone on the fence about it if you love music and rhythm games.

I own some of the Hatsune Mika games on the PS Vita, 3DS, PS4 and now Switch, The Switch version for me is the best because it is portable so I can stick my headphones in and just play anywhere, it also has a massive selection of songs, yes it would be nice to have the full set like the PS4 does but if you compare it to the other potable versions which had about 30 songs a piece then this version is worth the money. I also love the 'less real' anime look of the characters in this compared to the PS4 version as it fits in well with the feel of the backgrounds and general art style. It's a much needed cheery game to make you feel a little better about the world and things.

So the "Tamagotchi" aspect of Project Mirai is missing completely, right?

It was both cute and annoying (and a little creepy, considering you could dress up a Chibi Miko in sexy clothing) so I'm not sure if it's good or bad

I played the demo and totally sucked at it despite playing a ton of Project Mirai a few years ago. Played around with the latency settings but didn't get really satisfing results. Thankfully it worked perfectly without any fiddling in handheld mode.